


Phantom Dancing

by Sheepsymphony



Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, King boo take pointers on how to be a decent person outside of work, Luigi overcomes his fears, M/M, an artist tries to write, and they were roomates, google translated italian peppered in at authors whim, written at 3AM
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheepsymphony/pseuds/Sheepsymphony
Summary: Luigi struggles to find his self worth while King Boo plots his escape
Relationships: King Boo/Luigi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 76





	1. Feelings of Helplessness

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story i've written in quite some time. All I ask is for patience, and if my translations are off please let me know the proper wording

It was a long, long vacation for the Italian plumber swathed in green. The whole “Odyssey adventure” had wiped him of energy and the fact he didn’t do much to help the whole mess of events left him with another sinking feeling of regret. He feared deep down that he would always be second fiddle to his brother, no matter how much he tried. It wasn’t that Mario was doing this to him on purpose, if anything he worked very, very hard to try to include his younger sibling in adventures, it was just that his brother was so much more confident and brave then he was. No one has ever heard of a cowardly hero, at least in the mushroom kingdom they hadn’t.

After an eternity of lamenting he had finally stepped out of the Toad Taxi™, where the toad that was driving it roughly shut the door on his ass and drove off in a hurry. He then shook his head and then walked up the long path to his large mansion. It was a gracious reminder of one of the first times he felt like player 1 for a change, when he had defeated King Boo so long ago. It had left him with a rather dilapidated interior and exterior to fix up and refurnish. It helped that it’d had all those valuables he’d found inside of it. Even with the ridiculous amount of money he had, he chose to give it a fresh coat of paint and fix structural issues so that most of the mansion's integrity and history remained intact and he walked away the richest man in the kingdom. The plumber was a bit of a sucker for museums and the house’s history was rather tragic to have so many lost spirits in it, so when he was done he was rather proud to call the place home.

When Luigi had finally reached the door he turned the handle and walked into the home, the one he had labored so hard to make. A small yip was the first thing to garner his attention and he looked down finding his morose expression breaking into a gentle smile at the sight of his ghastly canine companion.

“Oh Polterpup, how I -hack- missed you,” He spoke, clearing his throat a bit, having not said a word the whole way home, “Oop, there I go again...let me get settled back in sciocco cane.”

He had gently chided the pup in his native tongue, which he seemed to understand well enough. At least, he hoped the pup understood. Polterpup seemed to respond when he spoke in Italian, hell he even seemed to come when he’d beckoned him in the language. Maybe it was a multilingual ghost dog thing?

Luigi shook his head as he finally drug his suitcase into the house and began to trek up to his room on the top floor. Most of the rooms on this floor were large and spacious with only one room he did not dare to enter or be around or go near EVER. That was the room that seemed to have been claimed by the notorious King Boo as his own, so while he updated the rooms structure and paint so that he may keep the portrait that his enemy was sealed in under lock and key, he made sure to put most of the things back the way they were. Dare Luigi say it, but that would be the most disheveled room in the house. As he drug his feet up the stairs he felt a chill run down his spine, and he felt his gaze shift to the locked door.

Something beyond the door beckoned for him sweetly, it called to him like the sirens calling out to doomed sailors sailing in rocky shores. He ignored it for the time being, and pushed into his rather comfortable room.

His room sported very similar colors to his wardrobe, rocking a nice shamrock green with gentle light grey accents that paired well with the white trim, that he ran a gloved hand along as he entered. He took a deep breath and meandered to his bed that spanned the length of a small alcove in the wall. It had enough space for six or seven of him plus his ghost dog. However he laid among the nest of blankets and pillows and exhaled softly.  
“Well Polterpup, What do I do now?” He looked to the dog, hoping that the spectral hound would point him towards an objective worth the while of being home. Eventually he had gotten up and started to do some chores. Back to mundane life again, eh Luigi? He thought to himself in his head as he proceeded to spend the rest of the day’s time cleaning.

Meanwhile…

The Specter could feel his enemies life force enter the house once more, and it made the king ache to be out of the damned portrait dimension he was trapped in. Why did the stupid plumber get to be free but he was stuck in a 5’x5’ room, being driven crazy like a modern day quarantined non-essential worker? He envied the human, as 3 times he was thwarted by basically the same pattern and definitely the same person. It made him furious. Though that could be easily seen by the long deep gashes in the walls of this small little prison.

However Envy and anger wasn’t the only thing the ghost king felt. He felt a twinge of sadness and a sharp pang of longing. These were feelings he hadn’t felt in a long, long time...not since he was alive. They confused him. He should hate the plumber and he definitely wanted to kill the boy at some points too, but he felt that if the plumber had released him then and there that he wouldn't be able to put a single ectoplasmic finger on him. King boo would admit, he’d been staying in this mansion now for awhile and while he couldn’t escape the frame, he could use his extrasensory powers to tap into his captors emotions.

They were awful. He seemed so sad and stressed all the time and it confused him. The feelings conflicting in his head gave him a headache. However soon King boo developed a plan. He could prey on the green plumber's feelings and in turn get his well deserved escape and subsequent revenge. The king pressed against the frame of his prison sending his psychic feelers out into the room.

_“Come inside my room Luigi. I just want to talk.”_


	2. Murky Mansion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little heart to heart can get you what you want right?

_“Bwahahahah”_

Luigi woke up in a cold sweat, lying tangled up in his sheets as he looked around to find the source of the terrifying laughter. How long had he been asleep? He swore it was just noon. Just then he shuddered violently as a cold chill ran down his spine, causing him to gasp aloud involuntarily. After grappling with panic for a moment he started to settle down when he realized it was just that pesky ghost in the portrait down the hall.

“I’m not gonna let you out!” He yelled into the dark corridors of the murky mansion that was now swathed in shadow from the clouds blocking the moonlight. Silence. Of course there was going to be silence, as much as that no good king boo wanted the only way he could communicate at the moment was telepathically. Though the stronger connection told the timid plumber it was getting closer to the new moon, when the other’s power was at his height. Luigi knew he was getting antsy, as he was never this much of a problem before.

It was times like these luigi appreciated his ability to be firm with E. Gadd on this issue, as he had a feeling there would have been much more bullshit with King Boo by now if he had let him keep the portrait. He frowned at the thought of how many more times he’d have to wrestle with the specter before the King himself cut through to his thoughts.

“Rude”

“I don’t think you really get a say in what is rude here, you” He chided, wagging his finger a bit, but found himself chuckling. Mario always told him he nagged just like their momma.

“Anyway, you can’t ignore me forever. Besides, I just want to talk. Do you think it’s fair to keep me in here with no stimulation but you get to watch TV and walk around and do things?”

Well shit. He has a point. Luigi looked to the ghost dog next to him and the pup just gave a resigned nod. So up the green plumber went, lighting the lantern he kept next to his bed and shuffling down the hall.

“Who uses an Oil lantern anymore anyway?” came the snark in his head, to which he shrugged off.

“It’s for the Aesthetic.” He snapped back a tad defensively. It was his house! he got to choose the lighting instruments! "Besides, You want me to talk to you or not?" Heh, that got him to shut up.

Luigi then hesitated a moment at the door. He really detested entering this room for any reason, he hated how the aura made him feel. It reminded him of the times where got to be the hero, yes, but it also brung the memories of when he had to be player 2 welling up to the surface. It reminded him that had Mario been able to, he would have saved the day and Luigi would have to watch.

Taking a breath to steel himself he pushed the handle and entered the room. It was THE Master suite. Dusty pieces of the shattered king sized bed frame were a golden ornate color The once silky sheets that draped across it in tatters were a rich violet, much more warmer than Waluigi’s colors. On the wall sat the portrait of the King boo, His red eyes watching the plumber as his body glowed an eerie purple that nearly matched the rooms accent color. A cold wind swept in from the outside, where the glass on the doors to the balcony were bust open, sending a shiver down the plumber’s spine again.

“Took you long enough.”

Luigi glared daggers at the other, before finding a not broken chair to pull in front of the portrait. “Well excuse me for trying to get some sleep, I’m not dead yet. I need it.”

“Yeah yeah I get it,” The ghost rolled his eyes and pressed his forehead against the barrier a bit irritable. “I’d ask how you are but I already know. Trust me I feel your pain. I’m used to being forgotten about too.” The room went quiet after that, luigi’s face flashing first in pain, then anger, and then finally sadness before he looked away from the frame on the wall.

“Okay okay touchy subject sorry i’m just a little pissed off myself,” Still silence for a moment. “Luigi I’m sorry okay.” After the continued silence he sighed frustratedly and broke down, his voice getting gentle and soft in the other’s mind “Luigi, I really am sorry I was frustrated that it felt like you were trying to ignore me and I shouldn’t have brought your private feelings into this.

Luigi looked back, his eyes red and puffy and sniffled a bit. “I forgive you,”

The ghost sighed in relief softly, before letting the conversation drift into silence again. After a few awkward minutes passed, he turned to the other a bit exasperated. “Look you’re lonely, I’m Bored. Can’t we work out a deal here?”

“How could I trust you? You’re not exactly the reputable sort, and after you've insulted me no less?”

“Look! I'm sorry! You make the terms, just anything to get out of this damned portrait.” King Boo huffed,

“Anything?” a small bemused smirk crept across luigi’s face.

“Anything! Just please get me out of here! Do I have to play tennis or go-kart with you or whatever Bowser did to get some fair treatment?”

“Fine, I will see what I can do. I have a idea on your terms but I can’t guarantee anything right now, I have to talk to the professor but it’s 2 in the morning.” He put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes, giving a slight sigh of both annoyance and amusement.

As if on cue, however, the plumber’s phone rang in his back pocket and when he took it out, it was exactly the person he needed to speak to.

“Ah, Luigi! Just the plumber I needed to talk to!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay folks, a little bit of burnout keeps you down for awhile. Bonus points if you've heard the song i've been peppering in lyrics from. It inspired me to write this fic, so i'm not apologizing. Hopefully formatting should be smooth from this point on. Thanks for sticking with me!


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